Over the years, a variety of exercise devices have been produced, including treadmills, stair-climbers, stationary bicycles, rowing machines, and elliptical trainers. Prior exercise devices such as these are configured to enable a user to repetitively move his or her body along a limited and unvariable path in order to approximate a walking, running, bicycling, climbing, skiing, or rowing motion.
Unfortunately, the repetitive motion of prior exercise devices along a single, limited and unvariable path has certain drawbacks, which may result in injury or a less pleasurable exercise experience for the user. First, only specific sets of muscles are exercised by motion along a single path of motion. This results in an unbalanced workout for the user, and may cause premature muscle fatigue, resulting in a shorter period of exercise. Second, repetitive motion may lend to injuries such as stress fractures, tendon and ligament damage, muscle pulls, etc. Third, repeating a single path over and over may become boring to the user, causing the user to exercise for short periods of time, or stop exercising altogether.
It would be desirable to provide an exercise apparatus that enables a user's feet to move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally along virtually any pedal path within a predefined range of motion, thereby reducing the injury and tedium associated with prior exercise devices.